Afternoon Delight

We see ourselves as quite the young Martha Stewarts here in STELLAR Towers and like nothing more than to kick back in the late afternoon with a cup of tea and a cupcake for a good chin-wag – This magazine gig is tough, we swear…

We spotted this recipe on MarthaStewart.com and it was too good not to pass on, so if you’re stuck for something to do this weekend, or really want to impress your relatives/mates/inlaws, whip up a few of these and they’ll be sweet as frosting for you…

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.line the cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a liquid-measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix.

Place tin on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Prepare frosting: in a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar or a few more teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes.

Frost cupcakes; decorate with sprinkles before frosting dries to ensure that they stick. The frosted cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.